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A GRAIN BUSINESS’S BENEVOLENT HISTORY IN FARMINGTON, CONNECTICUT

A GRAIN BUSINESS’S BENEVOLENT HISTORY IN FARMINGTON, CONNECTICUT

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By Janet M. Conner A whole foods movement, over a hundred years ago, was the impetus for a wealthy Farmington man to invest in bringing healthy grains to the local market.  Winchell Smith, successful actor and playwright, undertook a new role in the 1920s, the grain milling business.  His intent was not to add to his wealth, but to support agriculture and public health by offering natural grain choices.  Smith was influenced by a friend, William C. Klauser, and became…

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Portrait of Cinque by Nathaniel Jocelyn
Follow the Trail

Follow the Trail

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By Andre LePelle Keitt Although the Farmington Historical Society had for years executed an Amistad Freedom Trail Tour, it has, in the recent past, decided to revamp the old version of the tour to include a fresh perspective and a new treasure trove of archived materials and stories. Summer 2025 is the fourth season of Farmington Historical Society’s “The Odyssey of the Amistad: A Trail to Freedom,” its walking tour. The tour is being launched on its voyage through the…

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A TRANSFORMATION FROM RUDIMENTARY TO EXEMPLARY –The Humble Beginnings of Hydroelectric Power In Collinsville, Connecticut

A TRANSFORMATION FROM RUDIMENTARY TO EXEMPLARY –The Humble Beginnings of Hydroelectric Power In Collinsville, Connecticut

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By Janet M. Conner PART I Antiquated water-powered gristmills, sawmills, and fulling mills were the forerunners to early manufactories using hydromechanical power, and later, hydroelectric power. The principles for generating power are similar. Both require a source of water, damming to control flow, channeling the water from a power canal into a headrace, which turned water wheels and turbines to create energy, and then expended water was expelled via a tailrace. A prime example of this is frozen in time…

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A TRANSFORMATION FROM RUDIMENTARY TO EXEMPLARY

A TRANSFORMATION FROM RUDIMENTARY TO EXEMPLARY

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The Humble Beginnings of Hydroelectric Power in Collinsville, Connecticut By Janet M. Conner PART II The first turbines installed at the Collins Company in the late 1860s consisted of two large breast wheel water turbines connected by a shaft to two generators.  These were situated in a power house built near the first dam.  To insure against drought, and hence a disruption in production, the Collins Company constructed a secondary water supply.  It was located thirty miles north in Otis,…

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Romanta Woodruff: Distiller, Merchant, and Avon’s Early Upper Crust

Romanta Woodruff: Distiller, Merchant, and Avon’s Early Upper Crust

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By Janet M. Conner, Historian, Avon Land Trust Romanta Woodruff was among Northington’s (early Avon in 1750) most affluent and notable citizens.  He achieved a high level of social and economic status. Several factors enabled Woodruff to prosper. He inherited a share of his father’s estate, married well, and engaged in trade.  He was a large landowner, with orchards of apples and butternut trees.  He operated a cider brandy distillery and exported these commodities to the West Indies.  Romanta Woodruff was born in…

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Community Historians and Academics Establish Wangunk Studies Working Group

Community Historians and Academics Establish Wangunk Studies Working Group

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Middletown CT, 24 July 2024 – a group of independent community historians and academic scholars met at Russell Library to form a Wangunk Studies Working Group, a body of individuals working together to focus on research and scholarship about the Wangunk, the Native people indigenous to a large portion of central Connecticut. Founding convenor J. Kēhaulani Kauanui approached Wangunk elder Gary Red Oak O’Neil with the idea of forming a group that could serve as a network to share research-related resources,…

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Connecticut Explored Names a New Publisher

Connecticut Explored Names a New Publisher

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Media Contact: Jennifer LaRue, jglaruehere@gmail.com June 4, 2022: The Board of Connecticut Explored Inc. has announced the appointment of Dr. Katherine A. Hermes as the organization’s new Executive Director and Publisher. (Dr. Hermes is also the editor of Digital Farmington.) Hermes will assume the newly created role, which includes serving as the organization’s first formal Executive Director in addition to being its Publisher, on July 5. She succeeds Founding Publisher Elizabeth J. Normen, who is retiring from the post she created after…

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David K. Leff
In Memoriam – David K. Leff (1955 – 2022)

In Memoriam – David K. Leff (1955 – 2022)

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Author: Janet M. Conner, Historian Laureate, Avon Land Trust ___ I met David Leff several years ago when he and his wife attended a presentation I was giving.  I had previously asked him if I could use some quotations from his writing in my talk.  He was very kind to say yes, and I was honored he took time from his busy life to attend.  Busy life is an understatement as David’s resume is nothing short of impressive.  He resided in Collinsville, Connecticut and…

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